Companies that want to succeed over the long-term need to understand strategic management. The process itself is straightforward: identify the company’s mission and goals, perform both internal and external analyses of the company, decide what actions need to be taken, take the required actions, and evaluate the results of those actions. Different organizational strategies can help companies through the process. Companies need to choose the strategies that best fit their needs and be willing to adapt if necessary. Strategic management gives managers a road map that shows where problems are and where they might develop. Armed with practical information, managers can prepare for changes and know how to accommodate those changes when they arrive.

This course looks at spurring creativity and innovation in teams and organizations. Drawing on the latest academic thinking, it outlines the key factors for creative teams.
Further, the course focuses on tools and techniques designed to yield more productive thinking in collective settings. Participants learn about a number of targeted tools (including brainstorming, Discussion 66, Provocation, and others) to generate fresh thinking in smaller group settings and in their organizations.

At the center of the American criminal justice system lies the criminal court system that serves to ensure our community and our society remain protected from both criminals and the law itself. With its unique procedures and processes, the American criminal courts are designed to ensure we have a fair and balanced system for criminal prosecution that focuses primarily on the rights of the accused. As developed over hundreds of years, the criminal codes of both the federal and state governments are adjudicated in separate courts from civil or family controversies given the grave nature of a criminal case.

Ethical considerations pose constant questions for criminal justice professionals, judges, elected officials and society as a whole. As a measure of our progress, ideals and principles as a society, the criminal justice system is one of the most important elements of any civilization. It is in that light, that the Criminal Justice Ethics course addresses the various dynamics of ethical behavior, ethical application of the laws and ethical incarceration guidelines including capital punishment and controversial federal sentencing guidelines. Focusing on the philosophical issues and moral dilemmas within the field of criminal justice, this course takes a critical look a the principles of justice, deontology and utilitarianism as well as the various players within the system.

The Criminology course explores the different causes of criminal behavior as it is used to study and solve certain crimes. Students will be introduced to the study of crime and criminal behavior as well as to theories of crime causation. It reviews different types of crime and examines crime control policy, taking account different ethical issues, policy implications and research. Students will have the chance to review various theories of crime, delinquency, and behavior in terms of both theory and methodology.

Critical Thinking and the ability to employ and apply sound, logical reasoning to a problem is essential to success on any project in any field. This Critical Thinking courses focuses primarily on arguments, their nature, their use and importance. This course offers students an understanding of critical thinking processes and those methodical processes necessary for effective reasoning and improved cognitive skills. The course is aimed at developing intellectual dispositions that are essential to the effective evaluation of truth claims. From there, the course show students how to arrive at reasonable conclusions and make decisions based on what is true, or what is believed to be true.

Across the country, the communities served by Healthcare providers are increasingly diverse. Beyond language, ethnicity, race and sex, each person has his or her own unique set of health beliefs and practices that can vary by age, gender, religious beliefs and socioeconomic status. The Cultural Competence for Healthcare Providers course addresses these issues head on by helping providers to become more knowledgeable about the patients they serve, more aware of the various sensitivities they may come across and more responsive to patients’ particular needs.